The Fondation Égyptologique Reine Élisabeth in Belgium and the creation of national and transnational Egyptological research infrastructures in the 1920s–1940s

Abstract

When Jean Capart baptized the Fondation Égyptologique Reine Élisabeth (FÉRÉ) in 1923 in Brussels, it was a relative latecomer in the world of Oriental Societies. Moreover, the scope and aims of the FÉRÉ were somewhat different from those of other such organisations: it was not primarily created to finance excavations or acquire antiquities for the Royal Museums of Art and History (RMAH), but rather to help the development of Egyptology in Belgium in its broadest sense for both professionals and laymen alike. Making good use of his connections with industrialists and other wealthy patrons of his time, both in Belgium and abroad, Capart managed to finance the FÉRÉ mainly with private funding. It soon established itself as an active and vibrant organisation, organising lectures, conferences, and exhibitions; building a richly furnished Egyptological library and photographic collection; prolifically publishing and creating its own bulletin (Chronique d’Égypte, 1925); and undertaking study trips and excavations in Egypt. This was noted by colleagues, and Brussels was coined as the ideal place to form the nucleus of international Egyptological research. A small country geographically located in the heart of Europe, Belgium was both convenient and non-threatening for the larger national powers surrounding it. In this paper the place of the FÉRÉ amidst the other Oriental Societies is evaluated, its networks of support and influence are mapped, and ultimately also its role as motor of the creation of a transnational research infrastructure for Egyptology is discussed.